Adventures beyond the front door
The final stretch of Denmark’s longest mediaeval road stretched out along a causeway, the polished stones leading to what had once been an island and home today to the ruins of Kalø Castle. It had been built some seven centuries ago, an impenetrable fortress to protect a King not necessarily from the threat that might… Continue reading The stories in the earth – Walking the Mols Bjerge
We had arrived in Bochum to visit friends, approaching this city in the industrial heartland of Germany known as the Ruhrgebiet in torrential summer rain. Somehow it fit the city that we explored that afternoon on foot – a no-nonsense, postwar urban landscape similar to many of the towns that were heavily bombed during World… Continue reading Riding the rails – the Erzbahntrasse, Bochum
The metal staircase starts at the bottom of the tower, and with each step we were climbing ever closer to the top of the trees. We were in the grounds of the old Beelitz Heilstätten, a sanatorium set among the pine forests south of Berlin. Looking up we could see the walkway stretching out from… Continue reading Above the treetops – the Beelitz Sanatorium
There are many places that become victims of their own popularity. We think of them as ‘tourist traps’, as places visited by the unimaginative and unadventurous. They are places accessed by turnstiles and thus ‘consumed’. They are cliches. They are not worth our time. They are to be avoided, and we judge all those who… Continue reading Run River Run – The Rhine Falls, Schaffhausen
The township of Rodalquilar, in the Cabo de Gata Natural Park, was born of a gold rush. When the mines were opened there was a belief that the volcanic landscape within which the town was built would give up great riches. They were linked by wide, dusty roads that were cut through the low mountains,… Continue reading A dusty red road through the hills – Rodalquilar
Just outside Kranjska Gora we stopped by a lake and the statue of Zlatorog – the golden horned ibex that was said to stalk the slopes of Triglav, Slovenia’s highest mountain. We followed his gaze up into the hills, where low clouds obscured all but the lowest peaks. Was it worth continuing? We stood with… Continue reading Crossing the Vršič Pass
The Winding Trail 